Author:
Broussard Dianne M.,Kassardjian Charles D.
Abstract
Motor learning is a very basic, essential form of learning that appears to
share common mechanisms across different motor systems. We evaluate and
compare a few conceptual models for learning in a relatively simple neural
system, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) of vertebrates. We also compare the
different animal models that have been used to study the VOR. In the VOR, a
sensory signal from the semicircular canals is transformed into a motor signal
that moves the eyes. The VOR can modify the transformation under the guidance
of vision. The changes are persistent and share some characteristics with
other types of associative learning. The cerebellar cortex is directly linked
to the VOR reflex circuitry in a partnership that is present in all
vertebrates, and which is necessary for motor learning. Early theories of
Marr, Albus, and Ito, in which motor memories are stored solely in the
cerebellar cortex, have not explained the bulk of the experimental data. Many
studies appear to indicate a site of learning in the vestibular nuclei, and
the most successful models have incorporated long-term memory storage in both
the cerebellar cortex and the brainstem. Plausible cellular mechanisms for
learning have been identified in both structures. We propose that short-term
motor memory is initially stored in the cerebellar cortex, and that during
consolidation of the motor memory the locus of storage shifts to include a
brainstem site. We present experimental results that support our
hypothesis.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Subject
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience,Cognitive Neuroscience,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Cited by
75 articles.
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